I remember when I started using my quarterly planner, it was an investment (we’re talking $120 for the full year!) and something shifted. I’m familiar with the fear of spending money on something and not using it. It feels so wasteful and I feel silly for thinking something was gonna do something it didn’t do. This time was different though. There was something in me that decided that I could decide how well I used it.
Products aren’t magical. What you do with them determines your results.
So with that, my mind shifted and I knew I just needed to figure out how to make sure I’d actually use it and use it well. I even brought it up during my call with my life coach Diana because I was determined to make the most of it and I came up with a series of questions to help me follow through.
If you’ve ordered our Yearly Prayer Journal, we KNOW that’s an investment and don’t take your decision lightly. We want to help set you up for success in using your journal and we’ve done that a few ways in the past, like our 2-hour webinar, online prayer course, YouTube videos on how to set up your journal and how to use your journal daily, a handy free guide that comes with each journal, and the list goes on.
Today though, I’m REALLY excited to share these questions because I feel like this is really customizeable to your personality, needs, etc. If you answer these questions, we’d LOVE to have you share them with us so we can share more examples. After the list of questions, you’ll see journal user Jessica M.’s answers to get the juices flowing.
If you want to listen to Val talk this out, scroll down to the video at the bottom of this blog post! For more behind-the-scenes content like this video + a supportive community join our Facebook group, VMP Society.
THE QUESTIONS
• What do I hope to accomplish with this journal?Knowing the desired end result is going to help figure out the best way to use it and help you keep coming back to your why.
• Is there anything I don’t understand about how the journal was intended to be used?Watch the tutorials on YouTube. Ask questions in the VMP Society Facebook group. Ask us!! Email Kara info@valmariepaper.com.
• What are the points of usual breakdown? Where do I normally stop using something and why?Is it my expectations and then failing? This is actually something we love about our journals. It’s not a daily format so though we hope to use them daily, there’s no such thing as far behind.
• Forget how it was intended to be used. What makes sense for how I can use it? Based on my lifestyle, personality, etc. how should I use this?If a feature we have doesn’t serve you, make the decision not to use it so you don’t see it as failing. Use the space in a different way.
• What’s my rhythm or routine with this going to be?Don’t just set up your journal and expect to use it. You need a plan for it. Put it on your calendar or write the habits you want to develop with it on the inside cover of the journal.
• What else do I need to add in here so that it’s something I keep handy?Your journal needs to stay out, so what would make it something you keep opening. Extra verses when you’re anxious or worried? Sermon notes? Goals? Worksheets to tape in? Something to put in the pocket like your to-do list? Whatever will make this the thing you keep going back to and picking up.
HERE’S THE THING: At first glance, $50 for a journal may seem expensive, but if you’re prayer life changes because of how you use that journal, $50 feels 100% worth it!! I cannot tell you how many people call them priceless. We have a handful who think they are too expensive but it’s because they aren’t experiencing the benefits. We want you to experience the benefits!! Hit us up with any questions you have so we can help!! Below, you’ll find Jessica’s answers to the questions to help get you started!
THE EXAMPLE
• What do I hope to accomplish with this journal?I hope to expand and improve my prayer life while deepening my relationship with Christ. I felt like my prayers were unorganized and never really knew what to do to become better at praying until one day a friend posted on Instagram highly recommending VMP prayer journals. When I went and looked into them I realized they were exactly what I needed and was looking for. An answered prayer in a prayer journal!
• Is there anything I don’t understand about how the journal was intended to be used?I watched Val’s video about how she sets up her prayer journal and that brought clarity and solidified that I made the right decision with buying these journals. I started with the 6-month journal and quickly knew I could benefit from the yearly.
• What are the points of usual breakdown? Where do I normally stop using something and why?For me, out of sight really is out of my mind. If I don’t see it regularly I am not thinking about it and then won’t use it. I put my journal in my chair or on top of my cell phone so I have to pick it up first thing in the morning (even if it is to shut off my alarm) and it’s a reminder to stop and pray or even if I don’t open it it’s a reminder of why I purchased the journal and what I hope to accomplish with it.
• Forget how it was intended to be used. What makes sense for how I can use it? Based on my lifestyle, personality, etc. how should I use this?For me, this is to organize my prayers and focus them. Also, a place to make note of all the prayer requests that I feel I see daily. As Val pointed out in one of her videos it helps me pray for other things than my personal requests and I love that because it is a great reminder to think about our country or community. It allows me to pray at a much larger scale than I previously was overlooking and not praying for regularly.
• What’s my rhythm or routine with this going to be? Set it up now so you stick with it!This was a big one for me, and I linked/associated doing my prayer journal with one daily habit that I always do consistently and that’s with drinking my morning coffee, I’ve created a habit of getting my coffee and grabbing my journal to pray. I have started associating drinking my coffee with praying and it is going well so far.
• What else do I need to add in here so that it’s something I keep handy? To-do list? Extra verses? Sermon notes? Goals? Worksheets to tape in? Something to put in the pocket? Whatever will make this the thing you keep going back to and picking up.Keeping my journal out helps me to pick it up randomly and pray. I currently carry my 6-month journal with me to work and have it out on my desk so when I need a few minutes away I can spend it in prayer. I plan to do this with my yearly as well. It has been a topic of conversation at work when my coworkers see it at my desk and ask about it.
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